ROMNEYS MOVE IN ON IOWA
Mitt Romney during a tele-town hall Monday night with Iowans: “I think people have to look at their leader and say, ‘This is a person who I have confidence in and will tell me the truth, who will care for me and not just care for him or herself.'” He said he will be in Iowa to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

And he sounded confident about next fall’s debates, if he’s the nominee. “I’m very confident that I will be able to stand up to Barack Obama’s — how shall I say it? — his inaccurate perceptions,” Romney said, according to Radio Iowa.

Other Iowa Mentions

FACT CHECK ON PAUL AND THE RACIST NEWSLETTERS: “Certain passages in the newsletters suggest that Paul, or at least someone using his persona, wrote for the publications,” the Washington Post concludes. “Paul offers implausible explanations for why so many derogatory statements made it into his publications, insisting he knew nothing about them.”

FROG ENTRAILS AND THE IOWA CAUCUSES:Opinion writer Donald Kaul: “The caucuses are the second-most fraudulent event on the nation’s political calendar. The first, of course, is the Ames Straw Poll. It’s entirely meaningless, but political reporters pay attention to it because if they didn’t, their editors would make them cover a real story, like a meeting of the local water board.”

A LONELY IOWA CHRISTMAS FOR SOME CAMPAIGN WORKERS: Except for Jacob Fullmer, a 27-year-old staffer from a small town in Idaho, Mitt Romney headquarters here was empty on Christmas Eve, writes Robin Abcarian of the Los Angeles Times. “I know he’s very passionate about what he does,” his sister told the Times, and started to cry. “And we’re very proud of him. But of course, if we had a choice, we’d have him here with us.”

SIX CANDIDATES ON A SPRINT: Iowa GOP leaders say “anecdotal evidence suggests that after visiting all 99 counties, many of them multiple times, Santorum’s hard work may finally be paying off with a late surge,” write the Washington Post’s Philip Rucker and Dan Balz. And some question whether it is too late for Gingrich to regain his standing.

IOWA: WHO WILL SURVIVE? “No matter who wins, Iowa will reshape the Republican presidential race one week from today – and almost certainly in ways that don’t adhere to any semblance of a traditional political script,” write Politico’s Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns.

IOWA WILL THIN THE GOP FIELD: “It is useful to remember that the Iowa caucuses are just the first stop in a process that will last until at least June as it did four years ago in the battle for the Democratic nomination between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton,” writes Rich Galen for the Daily Beast.

IOWA’S CAMPAIGN ECONOMY: CNN Money: “It’s a boost for Iowans … no question,” said Kimberly Busbee, a make-up artist who counts a few of the candidates among her clientele. “It probably quadruples my income in a month.”